Development of Advanced X-ray Emission Spectrometer

X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XAS/XES) are important techniques that provide the electronic and molecular information needed to advance major research initiatives such as high-power density batteries or catalyst development (for applications such as carbon dioxide removal). Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has developed a novel, compact spectrometer that enables far greater efficiency by acquiring multiple spectra simultaneously and a larger solid angle of collection than conventional approaches. This spectrometer could benefit a large number of synchrotron beamlines and would make a powerful laboratory tool but requires a technology transfer to an experienced manufacturer that can assemble the spectrometers at a larger scale and work with ANL to improve the spectrometer’s usability. The goal of Phase II is to perform a technology transfer from ANL to Sigray to commercialize an XES spectrometer to both laboratory researchers and synchrotron researchers. Sigray is a leader in commercial x-ray systems with specific expertise in facilitating synchrotron technologies to widespread, worldwide adoption by developing them into usable and laboratory-based techniques. In Phase I, ANL successfully transferred knowledge of the development of a first-generation spectrometer. Sigray integrated the spectrometer into a laboratory breadboard system that it then demonstrated on a critical li-ion battery sample. For Phase II, Sigray will work with ANL to develop a second- generation spectrometer with a 78X gain over the breadboard system developed in Phase I. This includes building a larger solid angle spectrometer, a higher efficiency x-ray optic, and a higher-powered x-ray source. This prototype will be used as a demonstration system for Sigray’s commercialization efforts. The transferred spectrometer will be commercialized both as a component sold directly to synchrotron beamlines and integrated into a dedicated laboratory x-ray emission spectrometer (XES). Use of the spectrometer in both synchrotron and laboratory XAS/XES will provide economic, social, and technical benefits including: Accelerating the critical research that XAS and XES are critical for, including development of high efficiency catalysts and of new high power density battery concepts. Furthering the emergence of XES as a workhorse technique. XES has more recently gained traction due to significantly improved theoretical understanding and development in modeling XES spectra. However, work remains on establishing libraries of standards, and more XES systems (both synchrotron and laboratory) will greatly benefit these efforts.